With two games still to go, both Newcastle and Portsmouth have already been declared champions of their respective Women's National League titles, earning promotion to the Women's Championship.
Newcastle have won the National League North, with Portsmouth having won the National League South, meaning both sides will make the move into the professional Women's Championship next season.
Newcastle United
Newcastle secured the National League North trophy in style, with a massive 10-0 victory over relegation-bound Huddersfield Town.
Emma Kelly, one of Newcastle's most consistent performers this season, scored within 15 seconds of kick-off, granting the Magpies an immediate lead and rush of confidence. With 7 different goal scorers, Newcastle showed the immense amount of talent throughout their squad as they battered Huddersfield to claim their title.
The Magpies have dominated the National League South for the entire season, having only 1 draw and 1 loss from 20 games, with a goal difference currently at 64, double that of second-place Burnley.
Newcastle's only loss so far this season came from a 90th minute header from Nottingham Forest's Niamh Reynolds, granting Forest the lucky victory after a strong Newcastle performance.
Newcastle's dominance in the league was also shown in their cup ties, as they progressed far in both the FA Cup and the National League Cup.
The Magpies made it to the fourth round of the Women's FA Cup this season, where they lost to WSL side Manchester United.
They had more success in the National League Cup, where they reached the final, playing Hashtag United at Luton Town's Kenilworth Road. After a strong performance in the pouring rain, they closely missed out on another piece of silverware.
Newcastle also set a new stadium record attendance, with 7,382 fans witnessing history at Kingston Park as they thrashed Huddersfield and achieved promotion to the Championship for the first time ever.
Newcastle United have now achieved back-to-back promotions, proving that the money, time and effort put into making them a professional side was worth it, as they will now play in the professional Women's Championship.
Portsmouth
Portsmouth were granted their title and promotion off the pitch, as second-place Hashtag United dropped points at Ipswich Town, meaning they could no longer catch Pompey.
With Portsmouth's 3-0 win over Plymouth, and Ipswich's 2-0 win over Hashtag, Portsmouth are now mathematically guaranteed to finish in the top spot, granting them promotion to the Women's Championship.
Much like Newcastle, Portsmouth have also dominated their league.
Pompey have only 1 draw and 1 loss from 20 games in the National League South, with a goal difference currently at 66, an astounding 45 goals higher than second-place Hashtag United.
Portsmouth's only loss came early in the season against second-place Hashtag United, as the Pompey were defeated 1-0 away from home.
Portsmouth progressed far in the National League Cup, where they ran into Newcastle in the semi-final. Pompey narrowly missed out on a spot in the final, as a 90th minute strike from Georgia Gibson gave Newcastle the victory.
They will be hoping to continue their success from this season in the next, as they take the jump to now facing professional opponents on a regular basis.
With such a large lead in the National League South, Portsmouth have shown that they have the strength to compete at Championship level or even fight for promotion to the Women's Super League in the coming seasons.
Portsmouth will now look to end this season's campaign on a high, with an away game at Cheltenham followed by the final game at home against already-relegated London Bees.
Portsmouth's men's and women's teams have now both achieved promotion to the Championship in the same season, with the men crowned champions of League One on Tuesday night.
Promotion to the Championship
Last season, the winners of the National League South would have had a play-off with the winners of the National League North, with only the side that emerged victorious in the play-off earning promotion to the Championship.
However, this has been scrapped, allowing both National League champions to achieve promotion, with two clubs now being relegated from the Championship rather than one; Watford have already been relegated, with Lewes potentially joining them this weekend.
The Championship will provide Newcastle and Portsmouth with tougher opponents, making it a difficult task to stay up.
All Championship and Women's Super League sides are entered into the Conti Cup every season, meaning Newcastle and Portsmouth will get the opportunity to face WSL sides in the cup next season.
With neither side having reached the second tier of women's football before, it is unclear what their expectations will be in the Championship next season. Although with back-to-back promotions already achieved, already professional Newcastle will certainly fancy their chances of reaching the WSL for the first time in their history.
Now that promotion is secured, both Pompey and the Magpies can start to look ahead and prepare for next season's campaign, where they will be moving from a semi-professional to a professional league as they enter the Championship for the first time.
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